# Is "Journeyman" by Erskine Caldwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Journeyman by Erskine Caldwell (The Viking Press, 1935) is identified by: The true first is the 1935 Viking signed limited edition of 1,475 copies, numbered and issued in a slipcase. US first is the 1935 signed limited of 1,475 copies.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the 1935 Viking signed limited edition of 1,475 copies, numbered and issued in a slipcase
- There was no contemporaneous 1935 trade printing
- Viking issued a revised and expanded edition in 1938, which is a later, textually different edition rather than a first
- Publisher imprint reads The Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erskine Caldwell |
| Publisher | The Viking Press |
| Year | 1935 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the 1935 Viking signed limited edition of 1,475 copies, numbered and issued in a slipcase |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The true first is the 1935 Viking signed limited edition of 1,475 copies, numbered and issued in a slipcase. There was no contemporaneous 1935 trade printing; Viking issued a revised and expanded edition in 1938, which is a later, textually different edition rather than a first.

## Is this the true first?
US first is the 1935 signed limited of 1,475 copies. The 1938 Viking edition is a revised/expanded edition and does not represent the first text. UK Secker followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 1938 revised edition and subsequent printings are not the first; they carry different text.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Journeyman* by Erskine Caldwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/journeyman
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.